


Saved by the Yellow King

by DragonsIre



Category: K (Anime), Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Minor Character Death, Multi, Out of Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26837524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsIre/pseuds/DragonsIre
Summary: What if there weren’t just four kings on Anishika High Island when the Colorless King came for Mikoto Suoh and Reisi Munakata? What if the Yellow King and his clansmen had been there?Warnings: Wrote the base of this fic a long time ago just after finishing K but now rewrote it so characters may be slightly OOC. Fix-it but still spoilers for the season finale (episode 13 - King); PTSD symptoms in chapter 2.
Relationships: Implied Suoh Mikoto/Totsuka Tatara, Implied Suoh Tamaki/Fujioka Haruhi
Kudos: 13





	1. Magic Warzone

**Author's Note:**

> I was cleaning out my computer hard drive and found this half-done fix-it I wrote probably around 5 years ago since I really hated that Mikoto died. I decided to rewrite and finish it, so fair warning the characters may be a little OOC. As per usual, I don't own any of the characters or anything like that and am just having a spot of fun. Feedback and constructive criticism are always appreciated and please let me know if there are any tags I missed.

“Mikoto!” The redhead glanced up at the vaguely familiar voice, immediately locating the blond male staring down at him and Munakata from the top of the hill.

“Tamaki. What are you doing here?” Mikoto growled, not shifting his stance despite speaking to his inadvertently estranged brother.

“Your sword is crumbling. I came to see you before it fell.” Tamaki’s expression turned sorrowful as he approached the other two Kings, eventually moving so that he stood between them.

“Tamaki! You can’t just run off and leave us like that! Did you see all of those guys fighting? This place is even more insane than back home!” A voice called from the other side of the hill before a group of teens came into view. Haruhi was leading the pack with Kyoya off to the side, scribbling in his little black book, and the Hitachin twins were chatting between themselves. Mori was carrying Honey on his shoulders and upon seeing the scene before them, dropped Honey to the ground and moved in front of the rest of the group with his blond cousin.

Munakata nodded his head to Tamaki in greeting. “Yellow King, it has been quite some time. I must admit, I did not expect you to come.”

“Blue King, Mikoto,” Tamaki bowed to Munakata before fixing his older brother with a stare, ignoring the arrival of his own clan. “I believe we need to talk. It appears most of the Kings have gathered.”

Haruhi wasn’t sure about how Tamaki was acting, having never seen him this serious before. “Kaoru, who are these men?” her voice was quieter after Tamaki’s dismissal, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously an important moment.

“Tatara is dead. My sword will fall only when I kill the Colorless King.” Mikoto growled, rage evident alongside sorrow.

“I’m sorry about Tatara, Mikoto. I know he meant the world to you and HOMRA.” Smiling softly, Tamaki tried to keep the tears from his eyes at the news of the gentle clansman’s death. “But your sword cannot fall today. I will kill the Colorless King for you and Tatara. The rest of your clansmen need you.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened in shock, never having even dreamed that his younger brother might suggest killing another person. Despite being a King, Tamaki was even gentler than Tatara had been, always trying to put a smile on a person’s face rather than causing the destruction that HOMRA often did. It had been a main point of contention between the siblings, the destruction the Red clan had typically wrecked, most commonly when going head to head with the other clans.

“The Blue King is Reisi Munakata. He’s the leader of Scepter 4 and is constantly chasing after Mikoto, the Red King.” The softer-spoken twin explained before Hikaru cut in.

“The red-haired guy is Tamaki’s older half-brother. We’ve never met him, but Tamaki told us a bit about the infamous Red King.”

“When did you two ever meet?” Mikoto reached into his pocket for another cigarette, only for his brother to knock the pack out of his hand with a flurry of yellow petals from his fingertips. “Tatara never said anything about running into you around here.”

“What the hell was that?” The brunet girl stared at the crumpled pack and scattered cigarettes that had just been in the red-head’s hand.

“Of course not, we didn’t talk here. This is the first time I’ve ever been to your area of Tokyo and I didn't spend long there this afternoon. He came to Ouran looking for me a few years ago, back when your sword first began to crack. I know it is not a recent development.” The exasperated look made Tamaki look years older than he was, and Mikoto felt a flicker of a smile before reality returned his usual bored expression. “Your rash actions are going to cause another catastrophe. It would be well within the Blue King’s rights to kill you to keep that from happening.” Munakata moved forward, as if to fulfill the action, but a curved yellow barrier formed, keeping him in place. Rather than breaking through it, the Blue King decided to allow the siblings the chance to speak and instead kept an eye on the deteriorated Sword of Damocles.

“I’m losing my mind.” Tamaki heard his newest clan’s member mumbling to herself, but he didn’t have time to address it.

“He can kill me after the Colorless bastard is dead.”

“And what of your clansmen? What of Anna? Tatara told me all about her; she’s practically your daughter. Shame on you, you’re going to make that poor girl cry.” Mikoto glanced away, gritting his teeth and wishing desperately for one of the cigarettes that lay in the snow. “She’s already lost Tatara, don’t make her suffer through losing you as well.”

“You always were good at manipulating people’s emotions Tamaki. I heard you got even better after you became a King.” Letting out a heated sigh, Mikoto nodded his ascent. “Fine, I beat the Colorless King to a pulp and you land the killing blow. No backing out of this.”

Tamaki took the flaming hand his brother held out, matching the Red King’s powers with his own yellow wisps. “He’s crossed a line. He needs to be dealt with.”

“Yellow King, you realize you will be held accountable for your actions. Scepter 4 will not allow for you to murder another king no matter what his own actions were!” Munakata finally intersected, having allowed the half-brothers their time and understanding that there was no possibility of the two working with him in order to capture the Colorless King. “You are not to act as judge, jury and executioner in this matter!”

“I understand your point Blue King, however a crack in my sword and your judgment is nothing compared to the destruction that my brother or the Colorless King could inflict on your precious city and its citizens. I hope you’re not suggesting that the life of one murderer is worth more than the hundreds of thousands that live in this urban center.”

“Tamaki wouldn’t actually kill someone, right Kyoya? I mean, it is Tamaki. This is all some dramatical play he’s putting on, isn’t it?” Haruhi turned to her friends, searching for answers to the impossible things going on around her.

“The King is quite serious right now. While it will be your choice in the end whether or not to fight against Scepter 4, you are one of the Yellow King’s clansmen and will be expected to back your king’s decisions.”

“What clansmen? I never joined some clan, just the Host Club after you guys forced me into it!”

“Then why is it that you bear the Yellow King’s mark, just as the rest of us do? At some point you swore loyalty to Tamaki and he became your king, just as he is mine.” Kyoya pointed to the back of Haruhi’s neck and she immediately slapped her hand over it.

“I-What mark? Did that idiot give me a tattoo?!”

Kaoru pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and showed the girl a yellow rose tattoo on the inside of his left forearm and Hikaru did the same with his right. “You’ve got one on the back of your neck, just below your hairline. Most of the time the collar of your uniform hides it.”

“It’s time to make a choice Haruhi!” Honey added, nodding towards the three kings, where Tamaki fought Munakata to protect Mikoto’s back as he climbed the hill to greet the Yellow clansmen.

“But I can’t fight!”

“Then stay out of the way and keep an eye out for a little girl with white hair in a red dress. Her name is Anna. Give me your hand.” Not waiting for Haruhi to comply, Mikoto grabbed her right hand and placed a temporary HOMRA brand on the palm, red aura rising from it. “Show this to her and anyone using flames or else they’ll assume you’re an enemy. Protect her any way you can, and they will do the same. I’m sure the rest of you already have your orders from your King.”

“Takashi and I are supposed to go with you to find the Colorless King. The three of us will hold him until Tamaki can arrive.” Honey moved to the Red King’s side, his cousin following him. “The rest are to deal with Scepter 4 if they try to interfere.”

“Hn.”

“What has that idiot gotten us into?” Haruhi was left behind asking the Hitachin twins as the oldest members of the Host Club departed with Mikoto, watching her King battle it out with Munakata. Tamaki was primarily trying to box in the taller male, rather than attack, golden celebration rose petals building an overlapping cage around him as quickly as he broke through them. For a moment, Haruhi’s breath caught in her throat as the Blue King’s sword came down again, shattering the wall like glass and nearly enabling him to escape. “Kaoru, what are we going to do?”

“Help our King.” The twins murmured, both flicking their hands out along with Kyoya and releasing swirls of petals that quickly reinforced Tamaki’s own. Trying to mimic her friends, the teen was shocked when she saw her own version, needle rose petals, tearing through the air like yellow daggers. They didn’t respond like the other Host Club member’s, instead passing through the barrier and heading straight for Munakata. He easily batted them away but his attention was fixed on the girl, the main threat now that Mikoto had left the immediate fray, as was Tamaki’s.

“Uh oh.” Shivering, she folded her arms across her chest, fearful that she may let lose another wave of the weird yellow aura on accident.

“Might I suggest you go find this Anna girl rather than risk causing damage to our own clansmen?” Kyoya watched carefully as the layers began to stack, encapsulating the Blue King in a rose bud that continued to build even as he continued to try fighting through.

“Yeah, uh, sure.” Stumbling back, Haruhi headed towards the fighting, fairly certain she’d prefer having to deal with the nutjob boy on a skateboard with the bat than the Blue King when he eventually got out. It was still chaos, but Haruhi managed to slip through the dispersing fray unscathed for the most part. A rogue fireball clipped her upper arm, burning through the blazer as she ducked into the main building and frantically tried to pat it out.

The teen was lucky, stumbling across Anna on one of the balconies only a floor up from the ground and overlooking the few battles still raging below. She was watching them through a red marble, partially hanging over the railing. Most of the gang members and Scepter 4 forces had pulled back off the island, though whether it was due to injuries or commands Haruhi wasn’t sure. Given how the two sides had been going at it, she would have put more money on the first.

“Anna? I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to be up here. Mikoto-”

“It certainly isn’t for you.” Turning on her heel from where she was approaching Anna, Haruhi came face to face with the crazy beanie-wearing boy she’d seen wreaking destruction with a bat and skateboard. Said bat was resting across his shoulders, red aura encasing it, and the skateboard was kicked up on end, ready to drop. Overall a threatening effect since the Ouran student knew exactly how much damage he was capable of with the items.

“Hold up! Mikoto sent me to find her!”

“Oh yeah? Why’d he send some random dude instead of one of us?”

“One, not a ‘dude’. Secondly I’m friends with his brother.” When the punk’s glower increased in intensity, Haruhi shoved her hand out, palm up. “He made some glow-y thing I’m supposed to show you, but I don’t know what happened to it.”

Dropping the skateboard and letting it roll over to Anna, the male approached, snatching her hand not unlike how Mikoto did, and the HOMRA symbol flared to life once again. “You two are peas in a pod.” She mumbled; jaw snapping shut when he turned his gaze back up to her face.

“I’m Yata. Anna, all good.” Anna approached, watching the pair of teens through the marble for a moment before putting it away, and with the skateboard in her spare hand. “Come on, Mikoto told us to get outta here; things are gonna get rough.” Yata gripped Haruhi’s forearm, pulling her along as Anna skipped beside them holding the boy’s skateboard, his other hand tightly grasping his bat.

“Where are my friends? Do they know?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? Do I look like I’m in a group chat with your type?”

Wrenching herself free, Haruhi stopped dead. “My _type?_ What does that mean?”

“If you wanna stay that’s your choice; I gotta get Anna safe.” Shrugging, he took the skateboard from Anna, who promptly took his hand and hopped on behind him as they reached the base of the stairs.

“Damn idiotic males. First I have to deal with the Host Club’s stupid choices, and now these guys?” The Host Club member muttered as she continued out of the building, heading back to the clearing where they’d first found the fighting kings.

“How long have you been a king? Two years was it? Mikoto’s been the Red King for six, seven years, and he was hard-pressed to match me.” Munakata’s sword slashed through half-a-dozen layered petals, causing the Hitachiin twins to take an inadvertent step back. “Do you truly expect to defeat me?”

“I may act the fool, but do not mistake me for one. I have no intention of besting you. I must simply delay you until my clan finds the Colorless King and get my brother and HOMRA to safety.”

“I won’t let you kill a king, no matter what he’s done.”

“Munakata,” Kyoya shook his head, gesturing to the snow-covered trees around them. “You chose a poor place to battle the Yellow King and his clan.”

Tamaki’s phone chirped, drawing his attention. “Kyoya?”

“Of course my King.” Immediately the dark-haired high schooler had pulled pine needles from the surrounding trees, yellow memorial rose petals creating a cocoon around the foliage and proceeding to box in the Blue King further.

Before the Yellow King could retrieve his phone, a youth with white hair broke through the tree line. “Where is Mikoto? I have the Colorless King trapped within me. He needs to kill me before he gets free.”

The Hitachiin brothers and Kyoya approached Munakata’s cage as Tamaki hurried to the Colorless King’s living prison. “I’m sorry, I can’t let his sword fall. I can’t lose him too.”

Yellow aura encased the blond’s arm, his Sword of Damocles finally completely solidifying above him. The cream-colored energy manifested as a pair of butterfly swords, just slightly misaligned to distinguish the two. The proportions were a bit too long and thin compared to a traditional set, but suited Tamaki. “Please-“

Tamaki refused to break eye contact with the youth as his hand tore into the pale-haired male’s chest, ripping out his heart. The explosion that the vicious death unleashed knocked the clansmen from their feet and only Munakata’s quick actions, breaking through the cage and throwing up a barrier, kept the three weaker high-schoolers from being killed themselves. When the air finally stilled, the Blue King approached Tamaki slowly, hearing quiet sniffles as the blond cradled the dead Silver King.

“Tamaki Suoh, you are under arrest for murder. Please place the body on the ground and step away with your hands behind your head.”

“What the hell is going on?” Haruhi’s voice cut through the crisp air, freezing the Yellow King in a crouch, the corpse spilling blood across the snow.

“She wasn’t supposed to see this Kyoya.” The Host Club second in command was getting to his feet when his King spoke, and Munakata was ready on the defensive.

“Do not approach us, Clansman.”

“I fear you may be making a mistake Blue King.” Kyoya drew Munakata’s attention as the closer of the two moving Yellow Clan members, though Haruhi was approaching quickly. The twins appeared out for the count, aura exhaustion combined with nearly being blasted to pieces as a result of the Silver King’s death draining the pair completely. “You can’t hold a King, and Tamaki hasn’t been disowned like Mikoto, meaning that by taking him in you invite not only the political wrath of the Suohs but of every one of our clans’ families. Mikoto collected the beaten dogs of Tokyo, Tamaki the Ouran Elite. You may not have recognized me, given everything going on, but let me introduce myself. My name is Kyoya Ootori. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Tamaki? What did you do?”

Only Munakata’s careful control kept the surprise off his face, though it did give him a moment of pause. “I cannot simply ignore what he’s done, despite what political power your clan may have access to. Not even a king has right to be judge, jury and executioner.”

“I shouldn’t have brought you. You weren’t ready and I should have known better.” Haruhi was nearly beside the Yellow King at this point, who was shaking his head frantically and trying to wipe the blood from his hand off in the snow.

“Whether or not he has the right is a moot point; the Colorless King is dead and he can’t do any more damage. My King handled a threat to all the clans and by his reaction it is obvious that he isn’t inclined towards homicidal tendencies. Is it truly worth the hassle and time to bring him in, just to watch him walk out the door in a few days, assuming he decides to cooperate that long?” The two raven-haired males were facing off, Kyoya having moved to position himself between the Blue King and his clansmen.

“It’s not whether it is a hassle, it is the law. Your King has killed someone and must be held responsible for his actions.”

“You were willing to kill Mikoto not even an hour ago to protect people, unless I misread the situation. How were Tamaki’s actions any different?” Haruhi snapped, fed up with the hypocrisy as she tried to console the unusually serious leader of the Host Club. She’d managed to get the blond to take a few steps away, blood finally wiped off and hands pink from the cold snow. He was shivering, either from the chill or shock Haruhi wasn’t sure, but she was certain it wasn’t good.

“Haruhi is correct Blue King. If you arrest Tamaki, you’ll have to have your second-in-command arrest you for attempted homicide.”

Munakata prickled at that but couldn’t provide a valid excuse. “So you suggest I let a murderer wander free?”

“No Blue King. We are suggesting that you reevaluate your position on the sequence of events that led to this and the viable options available. If you still believe it was not a justified action in the defense of others, we will address how to proceed from there.”

“The law is absolute.”

“Nothing is absolute and you’re a fool to think differently.” Haruhi growled, forgetting her apprehension regarding the man in her anger.

He seemed unphased other than a slight twitch of his blade. “Your King took the law into his own hands and your clansman is trying to keep him out of jail and you think now is the best time to raise my ire?”

“Whether or not your ‘ire is raised’ doesn’t matter to me. I care about Tamaki and my friends, who probably would have been dead or in a hell of a lot of pain if things had gone according to your plans; I’m not going to apologize.”

Munakata huffed, getting the feeling that the brunet would fit right in with HOMRA, but she did have a point. “Yellow King Suoh.” It took Haruhi nudging the male to get a response but once the Blue King had his attention he continued. “You and your clan are going to go home. Scepter 4 will keep tabs on all of you. Any suggestion of illegal or dangerous activities and we’ll have you in custody immediately. Am I understood?” Kyoya nodded as Tamaki agreed, eyes glancing back at the body still leaking blood. “I’ll handle it. And Suoh?”

“Yes Munakata?”

“Stay out of Tokyo for a while. One Suoh and their ragtag group is enough of a headache.”

“Of course Munakata. Thank you.” Tamaki still seemed out of it but assisted Haruhi in pulling Kaoru to his feet as Kyoya did the same with Hikaru. The twins were stirring but not yet in a position to walk on their own.

Honey and Mori met them just before leaving the island, Mikoto by their side with Anna. Once Mori had lifted Kaoru, Mitoko approached. “Thank you Tamaki.”

The Yellow King tried to crack a smile at his older brother, but it was a pale comparison to his usual. “That’s what Kings do, isn’t it?”

Obviously Anna didn’t feel Tamaki understood how important the Colorless King’s death had been because she released Mikoto’s hand to grab the blond’s. “Tatara.”

Surprise flashed across Tamaki’s face before a tired but real smile appeared. “Yeah, I’ll miss him too.” Turning back to the Red King, the leader of the Host Club was surprised to find Mikoto staring with a thoughtful look. “What?”

“If Anna likes you this much, guess HOMRA will be seeing a lot more of you and your clan.” The deadness in his eyes were still there but had faded slightly with the murderous king’s death.

“Only if you come to Ouran. Munakata’s temporarily banned us from Tokyo.”

Mikoto shrugged, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. “Been a while since I got kicked out. May be nice to see it and everyone out that way.” When Anna tugged on his black jacket sleeve, the Red King glanced down. “And I’ve got a respectable little brother that I haven’t caught up with in a while.”

“Let us know when you and HOMRA are coming and I will have guest uarters prepared. I’m assuming you would prefer not to stay at the Suoh Estate?” Kyoya’s crisp voice cut in, drawing attention to him and Hikaru.

“No shit, I’m still disowned. You guys staying tonight?”

“No, we should leave before the Blue King changes his mind.”

“Don’t know how ya managed to change it ‘bout killing a king. Once he decides he’s hard to convince otherwise.”

“Either way, best not to tempt fate.” Tamaki nodded to his brother, produced a yellow aura rose for Anna, and led his clansmen from the island, intent on getting home before shock fully set in for him or faded for Haruhi. She was going to give him the riot act for dragging her into this the moment it did. He’d heard the screech when Kyoya had pointed out the tattoo, and there was certainly going to be hell to pay for both of the males once things had settled.


	2. The Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I ended up adding a second chapter to this – it’s focused on the fallout of Tamaki killing the Colorless King and there are symptoms of PTSD, so I’m not sure the discussion of PTSD symptoms warrants a trigger warning but I’m giving a warning so people aren’t surprised. Also warning, my psychology minor was focused on attachment disorders and the presentation of mental illness symptoms in children and it’s been a while since I had to read through a DSM so if something is actually a child-specific symptom I apologize. Hope you enjoy!

“Didn’t think you had it in ya Yellow King.” Yata’s comment got a distracted “hmmm” as Tamaki created multiple roses for Anna and had them float above her head like fireflies. “To kill the Colorless King.”

“He was a threat to HOMRA and would have eventually set his sights on my clan.” Tamaki paused, watching the roses for a moment. “And I know what Tatara meant to Mikoto, so I thought of what I’d feel if something had happened to Haruhi. There wasn’t a choice in the end.” There was something off about his tone, a detachment that the host club members had become all too familiar with over the last few months.

“So between you two the Suoh line’s a dead end.” The skateboarder ribbed, trying to lighten the mood.

“What part of ‘not a dude’ is so hard for you to understand?” Haruhi interjected, coming from the back room and fixing Yata with a disgruntled look. Tamaki meanwhile was trying to figure out exactly what the punk was getting at, his face progressing to a flaming red that matched his brother’s aura.

“Yata – that’s completely inappropriate! Haruhi is a lady – she doesn’t need to hear such vulgar implications! Brother, tell me he doesn’t speak like this often around our dear Anna!” Mikoto smirked, taking a long draft from his cigarette and watching as Yata flushed. Kusanagi was chuckling lightly, giving off a similar vibe as Kyoya typically did at the foolishness of his clansmen.

“Haruhi’s a chick?!” Glancing at the girl briefly, Yata’s face got hotter as he mumbled “I don’t see it” from behind his hand to the amusement of the rest.

“’Chick’ isn’t any better than ‘dude’.” Haruhi sighed, figuring that was the best she’d get from the punk who now refused to look at her.

“Still, we’re grateful Yellow King. HOMRA would have been in a fragile position if we’d lost our king so soon after Tatara’s death.”

“You’re going to make them think you don’t like me Kusanagi.” The older Suoh added his own aura to Tamaki’s floating roses, small red HOMRA insignias interspaced between the flowers.

“If I didn’t like you I wouldn’t have let HOMRA take over my poor, innocent bar, and then let them wreck the place weekly.” That got laughs out of the kings while Yata looked indignant and Haruhi rolled her eyes. Despite the drastically different personalities of the half-brothers, they’d both found a weird clan that fit them, and Haruhi wondered how things would have been if they’d been raised together; if Mikoto hadn’t been disowned.

Mostly the girl found herself silently asking if this Tatara person would’ve been killed, and subsequently if Tamaki would have ever had blood on his hands. He was putting up a good front, that mask of foolishness and drama he loved so much, but Haruhi had seen him slipping off into his own world during conversations. He was more exhausted each day, even losing time, and while the entire host club was concerned, the others were hesitant to speak to their king about what he’d done, fearing it would cause more pain. Now a direct reminder was sitting across from Tamaki, and Yata hadn’t chosen his words carefully in the least, and the blond wasn’t break down. Instead he’d shifted into the factual persona that Haruhi had come to hate after the first week she’d seen it, talking as if it had happened to someone else, and when Kusanagi had made the comment about losing Mikoto, Tamaki hadn’t even blinked.

The Red King caught Haruhi’s eye, jerking his head slightly towards the back room. Confused, she followed the king as he waved off comments from both of their clans. “Yes?” Mikoto may be a king but Haruhi got dragged into a magic warzone because of him and he didn’t seem like a stickler for formalities.

“How bad is it?” The redhead lit another cigarette with a small shot of aura.

“He doesn’t sleep much and is spacey – well, more spacey than usual.”

“Talking to anyone ‘bout it?”

Haruhi snorted, glaring at the doorway where they could just see the others failing to pretend that they weren’t trying to listen in. Unless super hearing came with the auras, the pair were certainly out of range. “Who’s he going to talk to? He killed someone for you and no one knows except us. He can’t exactly go to a therapist and tell them he’s responsible for that boy’s body on Anishika High Island.”

“The kid, Isana, is fine.”

“ _What?_ ” This time viciousness colored her tone and was definitely directed at the Red King.

“Alive. Something about his aura I guess. No body means no murder investigation. The clans are the only ones who know that the Colorless King is dead.”

The high schooler huffed, shaking her head at the ridiculous world she got pulled into by these guys. “Tamaki still can’t go talk to someone; they’ll think he’s crazy if he says he killed someone no one knows is dead. Did anyone **_think_** to tell him that the kid that bastard was possessing is alright?”

At that Mikoto paused, trying to remember his conversations with the younger Suoh over the last few months and realizing with a sickening feeling that he at least hadn’t mentioned it. He’d thought Tamaki was just dealing with having killed another king, not the idea he’d killed an apparently innocent teen younger than himself. “I’ll tell him this evening after the rest of you have gone home. I need to talk to him about other stuff too.” Now that the redhead was really thinking about it, Tamaki probably didn’t even know that the Silver King was the one he’d supposedly killed along with the Colorless King.

“You guys are completely inept.” Haruhi mumbled, eyes straying back to Tamaki in the other room. “I think it’ll help, knowing he only ended a murderer’s life. But to answer your original question, no, he hasn’t talked about it.”

“He should.” She thought he would let their conversation end there. From what she’d heard, Mikoto wasn’t a big talker most of the time. “So you’re his Tatara. Carries a lot of weight. He’s a king and already proved he’d kill for me and mine. He’d go further for you.”

“And I’d never ask him to. I’m sorry you lost Tatara but I don’t see why anyone else had to die. Tamaki obviously isn’t okay, despite what he pretends!” Her raised voice caught the attention of the others, and for a brief second she saw the same hard lines in Mikoto’s face as when he was with Munakata on the island. Turning on her heel, Haruhi headed back to her friends, greeted by a concerned Kaoru while Hikaru gave the Red King one serious side-eye. “I’m going to head home. Good night everyone.”

* * * * *

The next day Tamaki was different. Not lighter, but resigned, almost accepting, but the bags were still growing darker under his eyes. “Enough, we’re going to talk. I spent some time looking up disorders last night Tamaki, and you’re checking enough boxes I’m officially worried. So we’re going to talk and figure out where to go from there.” Haruhi blocked the king from leaving the main room of the host club, having increased her tally with Kyoya to have it closed for the afternoon. The rest of the members were following her lead on this, not having wanted to do it to begin with.

“I’m fine Haruhi; you don’t need to worry.”

“Liar. You killed someone, or at least a spirit, and now you’re not sleeping, spacing out, and“ – “I believe the correct term is disassociating,” Kyoya added quietly – “are monotone. When are you ever **_monotone_** Tamaki?”

“I’m your king Haruhi, and I said-“

“King doesn’t mean we do everything you say Boss.” Hikaru cut off the blond, happy that the HOMRA guys were relaxing at the Otoro waterpark with Anna for the day while the Yellow clan sorted things out. No king would allow themselves to be challenged like this in front of another clan.

“We’re worried Boss, don’t you get it?” The softer-spoken twin leaned into his king’s side, pushing him towards a couch.

“It’s true Tamaki! And you nearly jumped out of your skin when Renge touched your shoulder last week.” Mori echoed his cousin’s sentiment with a quiet “mhmm” and nod.

“Just talk to us King.” That froze everyone, the blond with his knees against the couch seat. Haruhi had never addressed him as such, and he wasn’t interested in making anyone call him King anyway. She knew the effect it would have and while that was the primary reason she used it, Haruhi was also making a point about her allegiance to the clan and her king, even if she refused to obey him on this issue. “We want to help.”

“And how can you help? Can you take the memories, the guilt? How about enable me to sleep through the night? Or maybe you can make it so I can look at my own brother without seeing Isana’s eyes, his blood on my hand? Can you do any of that? Can you?” What started as distraught shifted to a helpless plea as he sunk onto the couch, curling in on himself to hold his knees to his chest.

“You didn’t do anything wrong – you protected us, and HOMRA, and the people who would’ve died if Mikoto died. Isana is fine, he’s a king with some sort of regeneration ability. You destroyed a monster, not a kid.” Kaoru joined the king on the couch, and while Haruhi normally would have wondered how he knew about the Silver King, she figured Kyoya was likely the source this time. Whether the Yellow King killed a second person or not wasn’t something to be hidden from the clan now that Tamaki himself knew.

“So what are we supposed to do?” Hikaru murmured to her, keeping his voice low enough that the king didn’t hear.

“I have no clue. But we’ll find a way to deal and get Tamaki back. I can’t believe it, but I miss his ridiculousness.”

“So babysitting duty.”

“Got a better idea?” She snapped quietly, noticing how Kyoya shot them a glare but Tamaki didn’t react so it was most likely a response to her body language.

“A professional.”

“They’ll lock him up if they think he’s a threat to himself or others, and the whole killing someone kind of gives them a pretty good indication he’s a threat!”

“Such a commoner thing to say. Anyone can be bought Haruhi, especially when they’re already on the Otoro payroll.” Kyoya’s voice in her ear nearly had her punching him, but she managed to refrain, eyes still on the fragile king being consoled by Kaoru.

“And why didn’t you suggest this sooner?”

“He wouldn’t have listened to me if I brought it up. That’s your job Haruhi; you’re his Tatara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I ship Mikoto/Tatara, and Haruhi/Tamaki. There were a few scenes in K where I definitely was thinking I’d seen straighter circles. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed – I’m officially finished with this fic now and am back to editing old stories from my hard drive so I can post them. I found a couple that are >15 pages that I’m working through (not even continuous story so I’m not only rewriting but also adding in major missing plot holes which are making them a whole lot longer), and also some short one-shots so I’ll be randomly posting some over the next few weeks as I finish with edits. As always, comments & critiques to improve my writing are appreciated and flames get writing group distribution for a good laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not sure if I’ll write a second chapter so I’m marking this as complete for now. As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as I work to improve my writing! Flames will be promptly laughed at and shared around my writing group as entertainment for all.


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